First Look at ‘Pacific Rim Uprising’; Plus Details on John Boyega’s Character

Entertainment Weekly has published a first look at Pacific Rim Uprising featuring new Jaegers and an interview with John Boyega who plays Idris Elba’s estranged son, Jake Pentecost. In case you aren’t familiar with the 2013 original, it starred Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi and Elba as Jaeger pilots who successfully beat back an invasion of monstrous Kaiju. Now it’s ten years later, the world is still recovering and the creatures are making a comeback.

According to Boyega, although his father, Stacker Pentecost (played by Elba), is no longer around, Jake has come home to pick up where dad left off – kicking Kaiju booty.

“He (Jake) felt he never lived up to his father’s expectations and so he decided to leave the Jaeger program and start stealing for a living. He is a young guy who was on the cusp of greatness in his early days when he was training to be a Jaeger pilot, but he always had a troubled relationship with Stacker. I’m the son he didn’t really talk about in the first film … the product of Stacker’s first love.”

Boyega also reveals that Jake is living life as a black market retailer and profiting from the last throwdown between Jaegers and Kaiju.

“When we meet him, he is living in an abandoned mansion in Santa Monica, which is half a mansion anyway because there’s a big Kaiju claw-swipe that has crushed part of it. He sells and buys stolen goods, and some of that includes Jaeger parts.”

He also discusses his relationship with Pacific Rim newcomer, Scott Eastwood, who plays his friend and eventual Jaeger, co-pilot Lambert. Boyega explains that Lambert is somewhat bitter after Pentecost quit the program.

“They were brothers. Being in each other’s heads in The Drift, they know each other’s thoughts, so they have great moments of hashing out what happened in the past.”

While the two sort out their bromance, they will also have to deal with a new invasion by the Kaiju.

“They (Kaiju) are way more intelligent than we thought they were. The monsters you saw in the first movie were the test run, to see how the planet would hold up. The breach we thought was closed is not their only way into our world. Their plans are more specific. Jake leads the team in trying to build up a new defense against that.”

You can read more of Boyega’s interview and learn about each new Jaeger over at EW. In the meantime, enjoy the bold new images in the gallery. Hit Next to get started.